In the aftermath of Real’s home defeat to Barcelona in the first-leg of their Copa del Rey quarter-final media reports surfaced that Mourinho had a bust-up with players Sergio Ramos and Iker Casillas. A few days later Real fans booed Mourinho during their game with Athletic Bilbao for employing negative tactics, even though they came out on top 4-1.  This week Mourinho’s poor record against Barcelona continued when they got knocked out of the cup, although they deserve huge credit for the character they showed in fighting back from two goals down to draw level. It is believed that Mourinho must now win both La Liga and the Champions League in order to hold onto his job.

Bookmakers Stan James have reacted to the speculation by opening up a Next Real Madrid Manager betting market. Germany boss Joachim Low is the frontrunner in the betting, while Arsene Wenger, Guus Hiddink and Fabio Capello also feature. Mourinho has not been shy in stating his love for English football and is almost certainly expected to return at some point in the future. He is currently the favourite in the next Man Utd, Man City and Tottenham manager betting markets, as well as featuring prominantly in the Chelsea and Liverpool manager odds.

Real are at home to bottom of the table Real Zaragoza on Saturday. They are the overwhelming odds-on 1/20 favourites for the match, while Zaragoza have been handed long odds of 33/1, with a draw available at 11/1. Real are the 4/7 favourites to win La Liga and second favourites (behind Barcelona) at 5/2 to win the Champions League for the first time since 2002.

Odds courtesy of Stan James.

Mourinho was quick in his first press conference as Madrid Manager to highlight the fact that the team is bigger than any individual players, that has always been a worry for Madrid in recent years with the big money signings not translating into success on the pitch. Mourinho has got a fascinating knack of winning trophies and he will be under pressure straight from the off at the Bernabeu if wants to avoid being another one season wonder like Manuel Pellegrini, Pellegrini was given the boot for his failure in the Champions League and that will be something that Mourinho will be expected to put right next season.

Mourinho will be welcomed by the Madrid fans as they crave success but it will be interesting to see how they react to the style of play that the Special One will bring to the club. Real Madrid fans demand an attacking fluent style of play  but Mourinho is renowned for setting his teams up to defend as a unit and hit teams on the counter-attack, as long as results are good the fans will accept that style but should the team struggle early on then Mourinho will find himself in deep water. The defense will surely be the first port of call for Mourinho over the Summer with the Portuguese Manager set to deep his toes into the transfer window, however there is no indication that Madrid will be spending as big as they did last year with the likes of Ronaldo and Kaka coming into the club.

It was made perfectly clear at the start of the season that the Champions League would be the priority for a team that spent in excess of £250million in the Summer, the team were dubbed the ‘new Galacticos’ after signing Kaka, Ronaldo and Xabi Alonso for huge transfer fees. Ronaldo has settled in well in Madrid but maybe looking on enviously at his former Man United teammates as they were crushing AC Milan at the same time as Madrid were being knocked out by Lyon. Publicly at least the powers that be have backed Manuel Pellegrini who has another year to run on his contract but behind closed doors it is understood that they have already started their search for a successor.

There will be two names who will jump to the top of the list for potential replacements in the Summer and they will be Arsene Wengerand Rafa Benitez who have both been linked to Madrid in the past. The Sack Race understands that Arsene Wenger and Arsenal have been approached several times in recent years to take over at Real Madrid but that their advances have been rebuked each time. Wenger is clearly the man they want long term but the Arsenal Manager will know that he will not get the same power at the Bernabeu as he enjoys at the Emirates, at Arsenal he is in control of the entire playing side of the club but at Madrid he would have to accept being just the first team coach with no say on transfers.

The logical choice would be Rafael Benitez who is a well known Real Madrid fan having played and coached there in the past as well as being born and bred in the City, he is under huge pressure at Liverpool and may see this as the ideal chance to jump ship. Liverpool are reluctant to sack Benitez due to the huge contract pay-off he would recieve but an approach from Madrid may well be welcomed by both sides as the board at Anfield look for a reason to get rid of Rafa. One sticking point in this deal for Benitez would be similar to Wenger’s in terms of control at the club, Rafa has total control at Anfield currently in terms of the playing side and he would have to be prepared to give that up if he went to the Bernabeu.

That search will begin now as Pellegrini is a dead man walking at the moment having lost the dressing room, the support of the fans not to mention Florentino Perez, the Club President was expecting success in Europe with his investment and that has not been forthcoming. The £60 million Kaka was substituted on Wednesday night after having a poor game and was clearly unhappy with the decision showing dissent as he left the pitch and that is just another nail in the Manager’s coffin.

Real Madrid Manager On the First Day Of Next Season Betting With Skybet as of 11/03/2010

Jose Mourinho 11/8
Manuel Pellegrini 3/1
Rafa Benitez 4/1
Arsene Wenger 6/1
Guus Hiddink 16/1

Odds Supplied Courtesy Of Skybet.com